Flight Express C-210 down....Merged

[rumpletumbler]

the nick nack paddy whack stuff after the feds put some real info up! Bottoms up!

Sometimes I nick nack the paddy whack in the shower. Is that against the regulations? Should I file a NASA report?

 

[millhouse21]

It's more than 3. They lie to you when they tell you that in training. They told me 2 in 1989 when I got hired. I know of 4 since then. 1 in 1990 Bob Berry, 1 in Tampa in 97 or 98, 1 Arkansas,1 Mississippi, 1 yesterday. We had another crash in '90 that wasn't fatal, but the pilot was in intensive care for over a month. I don't think he ever walked again. I know his face was unrcognizable. That one was @ SRQ.

I don't know if you're talking about the recent crash in mississippi but if you are, that pilot walked away.

 

[saviboy]

Very sad news. I see those guys every day.
May Jorge rest in peace.

 

[Groundpounder]

I work at FXE, and see FLX guys all the time. They don't have the easiest job out there, but they all seem like a good group of guys. My prayers go out to the FLX family.

 

[TDK90]

I worked with Jorge in Tucson when he was a CFI. A great pilot and good man (ex-marine). Very sad...

 

[PropsForward]

Here is another article:

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/10545904.htm?1c

 

[PropsForward]

dupe.

 

[C210drvr]

It's more than 3. They lie to you when they tell you that in training. They told me 2 in 1989 when I got hired. I know of 4 since then. 1 in 1990 Bob Berry, 1 in Tampa in 97 or 98, 1 Arkansas,1 Mississippi, 1 yesterday. We had another crash in '90 that wasn't fatal, but the pilot was in intensive care for over a month. I don't think he ever walked again. I know his face was unrcognizable. That one was @ SRQ.

I agree that jumping to conclusions about this accident was in poor taste. But the safety record sucks at FLX. You can probably do a search in the NTSB database. The 3 letter for Flight Express used to be EXR. I don't know if that makes any difference in the search.

Once again, my thoughts and prayers are with all the freight dogs at Flight Express, and the pilot's family tonight.

The one in Mississippi did not die. I can assure you of that as he called me right after the crash. Yes, by all odds he should have died, but he didn't and I am so thankful!

C210

 

[Princedietrich]

Yes we've lost 4, and yes we've bent a few airframes in our time.

Maintenance is not to blame for any of them, mainly it's been guys who were too tired and pushing it too hard or guys who were going too fast and not paying attention. The one fatality could be attributed to maintenance but I think it was more likely a mechanical fluke that could happen to anyone even in a perfectly maintained plane.

 

[Kingairrick]

Yes we've lost 4, and yes we've bent a few airframes in our time.

Maintenance is not to blame for any of them, mainly it's been guys who were too tired and pushing it too hard or guys who were going too fast and not paying attention. The one fatality could be attributed to maintenance but I think it was more likely a mechanical fluke that could happen to anyone even in a perfectly maintained plane.

Bob Berry in 1990 was a vacuum pump failure. The crash at SRQ was catastrophic engine failure, as was two other crashes that year. I had a prop governor failure that was nearly fatal. I had a mech. fuel pump failure in IMC, which compounded into a alternator failure. Because of the weather, very nearly catastrophic event.

I agree with some of your post, and I have no recent experience with Flight Express. However, it is my opinion that Kerchoffer had an attitude about safety that contributed to a corporate culture of risk that pervails today. It's the freight dog's "it was tough, but I got there." attitude. I had it when I was there, and I was dangerous. I did 2100 hours of 210 freight doggin' and I'm really glad I did. I learned more in those hours than in any other period of my career. But let's not sugar coat the safety record of an operator that is on the edge.

MORE IMPORTANTLY: Did this pilot have family that we can take care of in some way?

 

[RSixer]

What a terrible thing this is, man loses his life while doing his job. I am truly sorry for his family and friends.

 

[Art Vandalay]

KingAirRick:

Way to Go Buddy!!!!! You have done a great job of turning this thread into a bash FLX thread. A good friend and pilot has died and now you speculate on a company you haven't worked for in years. Please go away.

 

[YODA]

The important thing to remember when someone is lost is to realize that it could be any one of us. Let the NTSB and Feds do their job and find out what happened before jumping to any conclusions. The important questions are: Did this individual have a family to support? Is there anything some of us could do to help?
I worked at FLX when the 210 went down about 2 years ago. The sad thing is that if it was not for this board some of us at the company would have never known that we lost someone. I did not know him personally but it still would have been nice for management to put out a company voice mail, memo, or something! But nothing was ever said and some of us that care enough to try to help someone out never knew or found out through the grapevine months later.
Hopefully this accident mystery will be solved and prevented from happening again. I did not know the pilot but it sounds like he was good at his job and I am sure it is a huge loss for the company his friends and loved ones.

 

[Kingairrick]

I was going to suggest that the debate over the company's safety record take place in another thread.

I clearly tried, in each of my previous posts, to bring the discussion back to the pilot concerned, and his family. I don't bash Flight Express. On the contrary, I have very positive things to say about my experiences there. I just don't want anyone to have misconceptions about the safety record.

I'm sorry if I offended you Art, or anyone else. As a former freight dog, this type of accident touches me, although understandably not as closely as it does you.

So what about the family question? Are they in Orlando?

 

[PropsForward]

Yoda,
FWIW: FLX sent out a voicemail on this most recent accident and it was addressed to all pilots.

 

[PropsForward]

KingAirRick:

I feel that FLX does very well when it comes to MX. I have never had a problem with an aircraft that MX was snappy to repair or correct. There is no pressure to fly an unairworthy aircraft or to take unnecessary risks to complete the mission. Yes, they are flying Pickup trucks but the fact still remains that the aircraft here are, in my opinion, well maintained and in excellent working order.

With nearly 60 runs going 5 days a week to the tune of about 60,000 hrs a year times the number of years they have been in business. I feel very comfortable and safe when I climb into a Flight Express aircraft.

I am not saying what happened is acceptable, but just an accident. I feel safety is first and foremost and we should all strive to be safer in our flying habits and not accept an unnecessary risk. I look forward to the NTSB findings so that we may all learn from this tragedy and never repeat it again.

Any speculation at this point in time is very counter-productive and just getting everybody riled up.

 

[YODA]

Glad to hear they sent the word out to everyone. Just out of curiousity Propsforward, what equipment are you flying and where?

 

[kecustar]

I am not a pilot, but found this sight while scouring the internet looking for anything related to this accident.

Jorge just got married to a friend of mine in June. I was shocked when I got the phone call Saturday morning, and it still hasn't really set in. I got to know him the last couple years as his wife and I played softball together and he stepped in a couple times when we were short. He is a great person and I am sorry their time together was cut so short.

God Bless You Guys!

 

[Kingairrick]

I am not a pilot, but found this sight while scouring the internet looking for anything related to this accident.

Jorge just got married to a friend of mine in June. I was shocked when I got the phone call Saturday morning, and it still hasn't really set in. I got to know him the last couple years as his wife and I played softball together and he stepped in a couple times when we were short. He is a great person and I am sorry their time together was cut so short.

God Bless You Guys!

Please let us know about ANYTHING that our community can do for his wife. If you post it here, you will get a fantastic response.

 

[John Glenn]

For his family

I have been reading this thread and want to thank all of you for your kind words and prayers.
I thank you for respecting his family's privacy and his memory.
We are all pilots and understand the risk we face everyday. Unfortunately this realization means nothing to family left behind.

Many of you have asked what we as a community can do. To that end I have two requests.
1) Pray for his family
2) Any words of encouragement you wish for the family can be posted here and I will take them with me.

Thank you all and fly safe!

Gary